The documentary follows Vivian Maier, an obscure nanny who stumbles upon her photographs by a director and thus begins a retrospective of her life. She also became one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century.
该纪录片讲述的是薇薇安·迈尔，一个默默无闻的保姆，偶然间被导演发现她的拍摄照片，由此展开对她一生的追溯。她也成为20世纪最伟大的摄影师之一。
Vivian Maier was mostly described as "eccentric and aloof". She always wore a Rolleiflex camera on her chest. The viewfinder of this camera was below, so you didn't have to deliberately point it at people like a DSLR when taking street photographs. She took hundreds of thousands of photographs in her lifetime in this way, mostly of people on the streets of Chicago.
人们对薇薇安·迈尔的评价大多是“古怪、孤僻”。她的胸前永远挂着一架禄来双反相机。这种相机的取景器在下方， 所以街拍的时候不用像单反相机一样刻意地对着人拍。她用这种方式一生拍了数十万张照片，大多是芝加哥街头的人物影像。
She was a loner and didn't talk to people, but she used to record what she saw and thought about the day on tape. During her time as a nanny, she used to take the children with her to explore all parts of the city. She walked so fast to catch every sight that interested her that the children often lost her behind.
她性格孤僻，基本不和别人说话，但她习惯用对着磁带录下这一天的所见所闻所想。在当保姆期间，她习惯带着孩子们去探访城市的各个角落。她走路很快，以捕捉每一个她感兴趣的景象，以至于孩子们经常在后面跟丢她。
Eventually, due to occasional mental hysteria, she lost her last job and spent the last part of her life on park benches and in cardboard boxes. She was unmarried and had few friends, and her life was left in those photo negatives and tapes, but it gave her a more complete life than most.
最终因为她精神上偶尔的歇斯底里，失去了最后一份工作，在公园的长椅和纸箱里度过了生命最后一段时光。她一生未婚，也几乎没有朋友，她的生命全部留在了那些照片底片与录音磁带里，但这却使得她拥有了比大多数人更为完整的人生。
Three things struck me most about this documentary. Firstly, street photography is so fascinating that you can fall in love with it at first sight and want to repeat it. Secondly, "love" is a high threshold word, and you have to pay a price to be "in love with something". To be great at anything is to be great at it. Thirdly, always keep your wits about yourself and maintain a compassionate view of humanity. The second things—— "recording and thinking", must not be abandoned by the trivialities of life. Keep your own unappreciated "paranoia and eccentricity" and live your life to the fullest in its simplicity.
这部纪录片让我感受最深的有三点。第一，街头摄影的魅力如此之大，有灵性的作品可以让你一眼就爱上，并且想反复揣摩。第二，“热爱”是一个高门槛的词，为之付出代价才能算“热爱一样东西”。任何事做到极致就是伟大。第三，永远保持清醒，保持对人性的悲悯。“记录和思考”这两件事一定不要被琐碎的生活所抛弃。要保留自己那点不被理解的“偏执和古怪”，要在朴素的生活里活出精彩。
"She had an overwhelming triumph over art". This phrase hit me immediately. There is no doubt that Vivian Maier is a person chosen by fate, born with a strong sense of destiny. Like her eyes, which have never changed since she was a child, she can't see the mood swings, like a third-world voyeur. This, I think, is the best gift for a great street photographer.
“她对艺术有着压倒性的胜利”。这句话一下子击中了我。毫无疑问，薇薇安·迈尔是被命运选中的人，天生带有着强烈的宿命感。就像她的眼神，从小到大从没有变化，看不出情绪波动，像是第三世界的窥探者。我想，这是一个伟大的街头摄影师最好的天赋。
Author: Zhao Xiuran
Date: May 5, 2023
